Uncoupling mechanism



March 24, 1931. w. J. REGAN 1,797,674

UNGOUPLI NG MECHANISM Filed Aug. 2, 192e Patented Mar. 24, 1931 WILLIAM J. or WILKINsBunG, rnNNsYLvANIA, AssGNo To HE MNWA 6i; TURLEY COLIPNY, SYLVANIA er rrrrseuns-r-I, ruimsYLvANrA, A conroRA'irroNor' rinvii-` UNcoUrLiNe rrnolnlvisivr Application filed August 2, 1926..` Serial No. 126,621.

My invention relates to unco-upling mechanism or operating the locking device of` a car coupler, and is particularly designed to overcome accidental release oi' the locktethe-lock of she coupler locking mechanism which is often induced by vibration of the outer arm of an uncoupling lever of the Well known jointed type.l Y

In an uncoupling mechanism or" the jointed lever type7 such as is illustrated in the draivings, the lever members arreso nearly in equilibrium about their common pivotal pointthat a comparatively small force applied to the free end of the outer lever Will suiiiciently iioat or raise the inner end of the inner lever to actuate the lock-to-the-lock device and cause it to assume a position permitting the knuckle locking;` block oi the coupler to be moved or jarred to lock-set position,v thereby allowing' the knuckle of the coupler to open accidentally. Because of the condition of the tracks, the condition and construction of the car bodies', trucks9 etc., trains when operating; at high speedscause very rapid movements Vof all of the parts of suoli uncoupling levers are free to vibrate upward and downward, and these movements cause the outer arm of the uncoupling lever to develop considerable force which may result in a suiiicient raising of the inner end of the lever mechanism to destroy the effectiveness of the lock-to-the-lock device of the car coupler. The present invention provides means for opposingr an accident-al rotation of the outer lever member from locked to unlocked position.

The principal feature of the inventiomgenorally stated, consists in employing' in combination, an uncouplingr lever device comprising relatively movable rotatable lever members one oi' which extends inwardly from its center of rotation so as to engage and actuate the lock-to-the-lock device or" a coupler locking mechanism and the other of Which eX- tends from its center of rotation outwardly toward the side of the car so as to be manually operable to effect an unlocking movement of the inwardly extending member, and for resisting accidental movement of,

the manually operable levr member fromits locked tovva'r'dr-anlunlocke'd positions, M

A further feature of theI invention consists in employing, v( zombination with an un- Cfiiipiiiie iiiechaiiislii 0f the ,leverbare indi- Gated, ii plurality f meiiibsisliaired-,by the iii rOSiiiQii @Q @Hibrae and, engage the' outer leverY member, ,one of 4e'IV-nbracing members being shouldered jovne being adapted toy yield when the outer levermein-ber is operated inanually.- V Y In thedravvings illustratiiigthe invention; thescope whereof isf pointedouty in then claims l Figurel is a p lanvieW'f a; portion ot-a freight' car equipped with and ;uncoup'lin`g medianisin embodying the invention Figure Qis an endelevational View of the constructionshownin Eigurefl Figure 3 isa detail sectional View on the line 3*?) Figure 1.` 1. The car coupler l qillustrated in thedrawings is of the. Well 'knov'vn standard D `form having a lock lifterQ, ofthe generaltyp shown in the YVilIiamw Kelso Patenti No.; L29/tt@ granted February 11, 1919.,` which also performs the .iun ction. of a lock-tosthef lock preventing the knuckle locking' block from accidentally assuming/unlocked position. i

lock oi the car coupler ismovedto unlocked position is ofthe familiar lever style compris'-r ing aninnerlever' member 3 andanouter leverv member 4'. These two members are mounted for independent rotation upon..a common pivot pin or bolt 15, which projects' from a bracket 6;. secured`` to. the car body. The innerend of themember, 3s. extends through the usual eye in theyfupper end of; the locklifter 2,- Whiletheinner/end, of the member il isformed .with ,an of s t p.ortl'ion; 7. which extendsundjerthelever member 3. `By this mean-sa downward viiricaveiri ent of.. the Outer end'oftheflevr; H1anfibi-irk eiectsan ufp-i. Werd movemeiit the inner endl 01676.11@ lever` member Sfiiierebyiis .moviiiethe leek. 1, ter. 2 from lock-to-thedockposition andlth 11eafter effecting anv unlocking novement olf ai@ co'plelylcpkaine were i v. su!

The uncouplin'g Which-the" member 4 from accidentally performing an unlocking movement may advantageously be secured to the end sill of the car and preferably consist of a rigid member 8 associated with a spring member 9. These two members may conveniently be of angular form, their upper portions being disposed in overlapped relation and being secured to the end sill 10 by rivets 11. The depending portions of the members 8 and 9 are spaced from eachother to receive the outer lever member 4 between them. The member 9 is preferably made of thin spring steel so that it may be sprung readily when the uncoupling lever is operated either by hand or foot. Instead of forming the member 8 of spring steel it preferably is substantially rigid, being either cast or fashioned from a bar of relatively heavy cross section. At its lower end the member 8 is provided with al bent or offset portion 12 extending toward the spring member 9 so as to provide upper and lower inclined guiding faces 13 and 14 respectively, for cooperating with the outer end of the lever member 4. As will be readily understood, when this lever' member is actuated to unlock the coupler its movement in contact with the inclined face 13 flexes the spring tongue so as to permit the lever 4 to fully perform a coupler unlocking movement. Similarly, when the lock of the coupler falls to locked position the incline 14 at the lower end of the rigid member 8 cooperates with the lever 4 so as to enable the latter to press the spring member 9 outwardly for a distance sufficient to permit said lever to reassume its normal locked position as illustrated in Figure 3. It will be perceived that the means for preventing the lever from accident'ally moving from locked toward unlocked position are simple, effective and en tirely automatic in operation.

I claim: Y 1. In uncoupling mechanism for car coul plers having a lock-to-the-lock for preventing thecoupler lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, the combination of an uncoupling lever comprising an inner lever member and an outer lever member, said lever members being relatively rotatable about a common pivotal point and Isaid outer lever member being rotatable downwardly from normal position to effect an unlocking rotation of said inner lever member, and means embracing said outer lever member for yieldingly opposing rotation of said last named member, said means including yieldingly separable parts and being provided with a plurality of inclined faces respectively adapted to cooperate with said outer lever member to effect relative spreading of said parts, one of said inclined faces being cooperable with said outer lever member during a downward unlocking rotation of the latter, and oneof saidinclined faces being cooperable with said outer lever member during an upward rotation of the latter from unlocked toward normal position, and said embracing means acting under service conditions to prevent accidental downward movement of the outer lever member from normal position to a position effecting unlocking of the lock-to-the-lock.

2. In uncoupling mechanism for car couplers having a lock-to-the-lock for preventing lthe coupler lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, the combination of an uncoupling lever comprising an inner lever member and an outer lever member, said members being relatively rotatable about a common pivotal point and said outer lever member being rotatable downwardly from normal position to effect an upward rotation of said inner lever member, and means embracing said outer lever member for yieldingly opposing downward rotation of the latter from normal position, said means comprising a plurality of members including a springtongue and being provided with upper and lower inclined faces respectively adapted to cooperate with said outer lever member, said upper inclined face being cooperable with said outer lever member during downward rotation of the latter from normal position to flex said spring tongue, and said lower inclined face being cooperable with said outer lever member during upward rotation of the latter from unlocked toward normal position to flex said tongue, and said embracing means acting under service conditions to prevent accidental downward movement of the outer lever member from normal position to a position effecting unlocking of the lock-to-the lock.

- In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM J. REGAN. 

